HK business CD on/off/volume knob broke

One of my kids pulled on the button (rather than pressing it) and now the on/off/volume knob no longer works and is loose in its socket. As a consequence, I can no longer power on the system, so for now it is radio silence. I have looked on ebay and found a reseller with factory BMW HK business CD units and it looks like there are both Alpine and Blaupunk units. I have a 2003 325iT, and not sure which of the two I have, so I am thinking I need to pull the existing unit to be sure before ordering the replacement.

A couple of questions:
Are there any coding issues with a new unit? I thought there was some kind of radio security code.

Does the model year indicate specific radio manufacturer?

Anything else I am not thinking about?

Any input is appreciated. It is driving me crazy not having radio in the car Thanks in advance!

If you check out realoem.com and put in the last 7 digits of your VIN, you can pull the part number/model for your radio and use that to track down a proper replacement.

You might be able to fix it, I've glued mine back together twice! Just google it, there's a diy video somewhere... I'll post a link if I get a chance.

I you do like I did and send it to a shop for repair you will find it costs as much or more than getting a used one. I got my from Christy's BMW over two years ago and it still works.

Originally Posted by 1972ford

You might be able to fix it, I've glued mine back together twice! Just google it, there's a diy video somewhere... I'll post a link if I get a chance.

Mine is just sort of loose in the socket... I can not turn the radio on. The knob itself is intact, or at least what is exposed. I couldn't find any video, but admittedly am a lousy google searcher. Thanks for the reply!

Originally Posted by Chauntalei

If you check out realoem.com and put in the last 7 digits of your VIN, you can pull the part number/model for your radio and use that to track down a proper replacement.

Thank you... I don't know why I didn't think of that.

If just the radio knob is broken, that part is replaceable individually. Order it through your BMW dealer.

The DIY video:

This is video 1 of 2.

I performed this repair today. It is fairly simple and you just need a few small pieces of additional hardware. The total cost was ~$5.00 and I bought a couple extra pieces just in case.

This just happened to me last week. Knob stopped working. Looks fairly easy to fix.
Good thing I found this, without it I would probably have bought another unit.

I was able to do the repair in the video without any of the disassembly beyond removing the head unit from the dash. There were vents (holes, anyway) right above the area I needed to glue and I was able to finagle it back together in like 3 minutes. Left it overnight to cure and it's been good since.

Went to lowe's to get the small machine screws but they don't have them that small

I ended up sourcing a head unit from German Audio Tech on ebay... was about 235 bucks I think. I have the old unit and might fix so I have a backup in case this happens again.

Let me see if I understand your problem. The knob broke so you want to replace the unit? How about gluing the knob back on? I am sure you can think of some cleaver way of doing that, which is less drastic than replacing the Business CD unit.

I guess I'm too late to rattle in this thread. Done deal.

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

Let me see if I understand your problem. The knob broke so you want to replace the unit? How about gluing the knob back on? I am sure you can think of some cleaver way of doing that, which is less drastic than replacing the Business CD unit.

I guess I'm too late to rattle in this thread. Done deal.

yep I've glued mine back together twice, grand total of 30 minutes of time and $2.99 in super glue invested. Next time I'll suggest someone just send me their head unit and $200 and I'll mail it back fixed. ha

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

Let me see if I understand your problem. The knob broke so you want to replace the unit? How about gluing the knob back on? I am sure you can think of some cleaver way of doing that, which is less drastic than replacing the Business CD unit.

I guess I'm too late to rattle in this thread. Done deal.

If only it was that simple. The part inside the radio breaks causing the on/off button to stop working. You have to take the radio apart (well, the outer shell really) and then fix it.
It's easy to do.
Home depot and Lowe's do not carry machine screws that small. I found them at a local ace hardware store. 1.25 dollars in parts and some easy labor. I'll take that.

the part of the knob that broke is on the inside of the radio, as shown on the video above. It's actually not the knob, but the retainer on the inside. Much more involved than super glue and a few minutes.

Plus, now I have a spare that I can repair whenver I can find the time and listen to music in my car in the meantime.

Originally Posted by 1972ford

You might be able to fix it, I've glued mine back together twice! Just google it, there's a diy video somewhere... I'll post a link if I get a chance.

1972ford, were you able to find the video that you were talking about or is the video posted by ggladden the one you were referring to ?

Originally Posted by JJ3699

1972ford, were you able to find the video that you were talking about or is the video posted by ggladden the one you were referring to ?

That video is the one. I guess I was lucky that I could reach the internal broken part through a tiny hole in the casing, seems like other head units have solid cases right there, and you have to do more disassembly. I guess I need to watch that again, I don't know why you need to buy screws. I can't watch now I'm at work but anyway I've taken apart plenty of electronics and never had to purchase new screws...

I fixed mine last night. Overall it's pretty easy to do. I used machine screws like in the video.
I did notice the little plastic stands were broken on both sides. I kind of put them back in but I am not sure if it will hold up over time. Ideally I would like to replace the whole switch, but I doubt you could buy that piece. The diagrams on realoem.com don't show it as a separate piece. Anyone know ?

I was able to fix my radio for $.15 from Ace hardware. I drilled a small hole in the plastic behind the knob that lined up with the hole on the bracket. My hole was at 11 o'clock about 1/3 of an inch from the center. I bought a small screw the same size, but a little longer than the screw holding the heat sink in place with courser threads. I bet it could be done without removing the radio in about a minute if you were lucky.

Andy

I have a Business CD unit for parts with all the external buttons if anyone needs it.